MentalDownload for iOSBrain dump / a worked example
Put the thoughts down. Then choose the attention they need: an action, a question, a little context, or permission to wait.
See eight lines become clearer
A brain dump is an unpolished record of the thoughts competing for your attention. Here, that means everyday thoughts and loose ends, rather than the study exercise of recalling what you learned. You can write in a notebook or a plain text file; sorting is a separate, optional step.
One fictional Friday
Rowan writes this before leaving work. The list mixes errands, uncertainty, feelings and ideas because that is how it arrived. This example and its people are fictional.
The capture / still messy
The first decision / how to read it
Can I act now? Is this a question? Does it explain my day? Am I waiting for something?
A line can belong in more than one place. The point is to choose a useful next place, not discover a perfect category.
Action / lines 1 + 8
“Call and ask whether the squeak needs a visit; write down their answer.” Two loose lines become one observable action.
Question / line 2
“Did I interrupt Jo, or am I reading too much into the silence?” Rowan has a question to consider, not an obligation to apologise without knowing why.
Context / lines 3 + 7
Being tired of organising and feeling hurt help describe this day. Neither needs a checkbox. A boundary or a conversation could follow later; neither is invented by the sorter.
Wait / lines 4 + 5 + 6
Room: wait for Maya's date, then book. Bill: check on Monday. Picnic: an idea, undecided. “Wait” can mean a dependency, a known time, or something you have not chosen.
Rowan's next action: call the repair shop before it closes and record the answer. The room stays conditional; the hurt stays in the notes. No other task is required to finish this brain dump.
A fictional line, given the right place
Something felt hurtful. I do not yet know what I want to do about it.
I can return to this without making “stop feeling hurt” a task.
If writing was the useful part, you can skip sorting entirely. If rereading makes the pile feel larger, save the plain capture and return another time. An unfinished classification is still a record.
Enter one thought per line. You choose every category; the page does not interpret or classify the words for you.
This free web tool is separate from the Mental app. Text stays in this page's memory, with no account, upload, autosave or AI processing. Reloading clears it. Download your text if you want to keep it.
Use the same four places on an original one-page worksheet. Save the SVG, open it in a browser and print, or choose Save as PDF.
In Mental, a feeling and a short note can keep the context that would disappear in a task list. Keep actual next actions wherever you manage them. The web sorting cards are separate; they do not add anything to the app.
Indiana University Libraries: mental inventory offers a related capture practice. Retrieval Practice: free recall explains the distinct learning exercise. Our four sorting categories and fictional example are an independent editorial format, not a clinical assessment or a promise to treat anxiety.
